History

London: Bickers and Son, 1884. Full morocco, 8 3/4 inches tall. A superb crushed morocco by Bickers with gilt raised bands and exceptionally fine and ornate gilt tooling to the panels and boards. All edges gilt. There is an ink inscription, dated 1888, to the reverse of the front free end paper. Illustrated with 12 plated. A splendid copy of this celebrated history of the life of Lord Horatio Nelson.

London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1870. 3 volume set, 9 inches tall. A classic Victorian full calf by Bickers with gilt raised bands, twin labels and extra gilt tooling to the panels. With the bookplate of Charles J. Dobson. Foxing to the preliminaries, otherwise perfectly clean.

London and Paris: Boussod, Valadon & Co. (GOUPIL), 1896. Full calf, 12 3/4 inches tall. A superb full calf binding by Henderson & Bisset with raised bands and 'regal' centre tools framed within a series of pallets to the panels. A series of gilt and blind fillets with the gilt 'regal' corner tools corner tool frame the rose and crown insignia of Elizabeth Regina. Gilt dentelles and top edge.. This is the best edition of this lavish work with the plates in 2 states in a limitation of 200 numbers and 100 lettered copies of which this is number 70. Colour frontispiece and many monochrome plates throughout. A bookplate has been removed and there is some superficial damage caused by a long defunct insect, overall a magnificent copy.

London: John W. Parker, 1855: 1855. 4 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. A spectacular mid-Victorian full hard grain pink morocco by Grieve of Edinburgh, with gilt raised bands, green labels and a blind Aldus leaf centre tool. Wide gilt rolls and blind fillets frame the boards. With the armorial bookplate of Peter Carmichael. Maps, including 2 double page. A superb set of this great history devoted to the relationship between the conquering Spanish forces and the native American Indians.

London & Edinburgh: W. & R. Chambers, 1885. 2 volume set, 10 inches tall. A very handsome set in late Victorian half calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels , gilt and blind pallets and neat gilt centre tools. With full page plates. A chronological encyclopaedia of English Literature from the 'earliest times to the second half of the nineteenth century.

London: C and J Rivington, T. Cadell et al., 1827. 6 volume set, 9 inches tall. A very handsome early Victorian full calf by Wiseman of Cambridge. With blind tooled raised bands and smart gilt framing to the panels. The gilt embossed crest of Queen's College Cambridge within gilt and blind fillets frames the boards. Some rubbing but a solid and firm set. Subtitled 'The History of Modern Europe with an account of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; and a View of the Progress of Society, from the Rise of the Modern Kingdoms to the Peace of Paris in 1763, in a Series of Letters from a Nobleman to his Son. A New Edition with a Continuation, Terminating at the Death of Alexander, the Russian Emperor, in 1825.

Chiswick: Printed by C. Whittingham for R. Triphook, 1822. Half Calf, 6 1/2 inches tall. A good looking later binding in half mottled calf with a smooth back, gilt pallets, centre tools and label. Gilt top edge. Portrait. Small split to the head of the upper board but perfectly firm and solid. Foxing to the preliminaries. Martyred for his opposition to the Protestant Reformation, More is venerated as a Saint by the Catholic Church.

London: William Pickering, 1840; Cambridge: Deighton, 1848. 5 volume set, 9 inches tall. A most handsome Victorian full calf binding with gilt raised bands, twin labels and delicate gilt tooling to the panels. A fine set of the lectures of William Smyth, an English poet and historian celebrated for his analysis of both the American and French revolutions.

London: A Millar, 1763. 8 volume set, 8 inches tall. A beautiful 18th century French mottled calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and gilt floral tooling to the panels. With the label of the Bibliotheque de Champvieux. There is some slight cracking to a couple of joints and some slight rubbing but the set is perfectly solid and firm. Internally this is a very clean set of the first octavo edition of this great history of England.

London: Longman, Rees, et al., 1837. 4 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. An exceptionally fine mid-Victorian full calf from the library of Alfred de Rothschild, but without his bookplate. With gilt raised bands, twin labels and flamboyant gilt tooling to the panels. Twin gilt fillets frame the boards. Some foxing to the preliminaries, otherwise pristine. William Russell's history has here been edited and revised with some important corrections and continued to the death of William IV of England.

London: John Murray, 1901. 2 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. A beautiful Edwardian full calf binding from the library of Alfred de Rothschild, but without his bookplate. With gilt raised bands, twin labels and beautiful gilt tooling to the panels. Gilt and blind fillets frame the boards. Foxing to the preliminaries then pristine. Illustrated throughout. The notorious Lady Sarah Lennox was 'Daughter of Charles, 2nd Duke of Richmond, and successively the Wife of Sir Thomas Charles Bunbury, Bart.; and of the Hon: George Napier'. The work also includes 'a short political sketch of the years 1760 to 1763 by Henry Fox, 1st Lord Holland'. A favourite of both King George II and King George III she led a remarkable and scandalous life.

London: John Murray, 1845. 2 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. A classic Victorian full calf binding by Bickers with gilt raised bands, twin labels and extra gilt tooling to the panels. Twin gilt fillets and corner tools frame the boards. A neat inscription "....On his leaving Eton Xmas 1866." on the first blank. A handsome clean set of Lappenberg's greatest work translated into English for the first time.

Edinburgh: Archibald Constable, 1819. Half calf, 8 1/2 inches tall. A splendid Regency binding on half 'Russia' calf, with gilt raised bands, blind pallets and ornate, dense extra gilt panels. Particularly interesting marbled paper on the boards. From the library of Alfred de Rothschild but without the bookplate. Some foxing on the engraved frontispiece, otherwise clean. A tear on one leaf, not affecting the text. Romanticized by Sir Walter Scott and John Buchan, 'The Great Montrose', Seventeenth century Scottish nobleman, poet and soldier, fought for Charles I in the Civil War.

London: Baldwin, Cradock et Joy, 1824. 2 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A splendid Regency binding on half 'Russia' calf, with gilt raised bands, blind pallets and ornate, dense extra gilt panels. Particularly interesting marbled paper on the boards. From the library of Alfred de Rothschild but without the bookplate. An anonymous work on the life of this extraordinary woman with 'correlative details of the literature and manners of Italy and Provence in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries'. With some foxing and a couple of paper tears not affecting the text. A lovely set.

London: John W. Parker, 1857-1861; Longmans, Green, and Co., 1872; Sampson Low et al., 1880. 7 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. Superb Victorian full calf bindings by the great firm of J. Leighton of Brewer Street from the library of Alfred de Rothschild, though without his bookplate. The 'History of Civilization in England' and 'Miscellaneous and Posthumous Works' are both first editions. With gilt raised bands, twin labels and neat gilt frame around a sunburst centre tool to the panels. Some foxing to the preliminaries and a slight stain to the title page of The life of, otherwise perfectly clean. Buckle, the highly influential English historian and author was an exponent of 'Historical Science'.

London: Richard Bentley, 1859. 2 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. A delightful full Edwardian calf binding with gilt raised bands, twin labels and ornate gilt tooling to the panels. Portraits. A neat ink previous owner's signature on the title pages.From the library of Alfred de Rothschild but without his bookplate. A well written and fascinating memoirs covering, amongst many other subjects, The Union with Ireland, The American Wars of Independence, The French Revolution and his own mental illness. A superb set in pristine condition.

London: T. Cadell, 1827. 4 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. A splendid Georgian full calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels including finely tooled volume labels and highly ornate extra gilt panels. Portrait. A celebrated history of the second son of Lorenzo de Medici, the Magnificent. Leo, born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was Pope in the early sixteenth century. He was a highly cultured and artistic man although his virtues as the leader of the Catholic Church are debated to this day. A very good looking set.

London: John Murray, 1846. 2 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. A very good looking Victorian full calf binding with gilt raised bands, extra gilt panels and twin labels, the volume label being particularly ornate. Some rubbing but overall a most handsome binding. This fine set does not have the bookplates but it has come from the library of Alfred de Rothschild. Covering the period from the Accession of Henry VII to the Death of George II, this work has long been considered a classic on the subject.

London: Macmillan and Co., 1885. 4 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. A sparkling late Victorian half calf binding by Mudie with gilt raised bands, contrasting twin labels and gilt floral centre tools. A fine set of this classic work by the English historian Richard Green, in pristine condition, inside and out.